Tag Archives: Mastodon

Foolish dogs

Posted on November 11, 2021 by twilightbeasts

In 1870 another species was wiped off the face of the Earth. The warrah, or the Falkland Islands wolf, was only known to science in 1792. Less than 100 years later it was gone. The last known induvial died in … Continue reading →

Posted in Dusicyon avus | Tagged Dodo, Dusicyon australis, Dusicyon avus, Falkland Islands, Falkland Islands wolf, Giant Ground Sloth, Mammoth, Mastodon, Warrah | 3 Comments

A very brief introduction to mammoths

Posted on July 18, 2017 by twilightbeasts

I was in Los Angeles when I first saw him. I stood in his shadow as he towered above me. I didn’t feel fear. Or panic. I felt awe despite being dwarfed. Light bounces off each bone, highlighting the curves, … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbian Mammoth, Deinotherium, Gompothere, Mastodon, Palaeoloxodon, Steppe Mammoth, Woolly Mammoth | Tagged African Bush Elephant, African Forest Elephant, Asian Elephant, Cave Lion, Columbian Mammoth, Cretan Dwarf Mammoth, Dolphin, Dorothea, Dorothea Bate, Elephas maximus indicus, Elephas maximus maximus, Eliphantidae, Fosters Rule, Giant Deer, Gompothere, Homo neander, Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens, Homotherium, Ichthyosaur, La Brea Tar, La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, Loxodonta africana, Loxodonta cyclotis, Mammoth, Mammoth Steppe, Mammuthus, Mammuthus africanavus, Mammuthus creticus, Mammuthus exilis, Mammuthus lamarmorai, Mammuthus meridionalis, Mammuthus primigenius, Mammuthus rumanus, Mammuthus subplanifrons, Mastodon, Moeritherium, Neanderthal, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, Primelephas, Proboscidea, Pygmy Mammoth, reindeer, Sabre tooth cat, Sardinian Dwarf Mammoth, Southern Mammoth, Steppe Mammoth, Straight Tusked elephants, The African Mammoth, Tori Herridge, TrowelBlazers, Woolly Mammoth, Woolly rhinoceros, Zygolophodon | 21 Comments

An elephant shakes a tree

Posted on June 9, 2017 by twilightbeasts

Mammoths get all the attention. Like an annoying younger sibling, they hog a limelight that should be more equally shared. Occasionally, the mastodon gets a whisp of publicity, which is notable mostly for its rarity. The vast family of proboscideans … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbian Mammoth, Deinotherium, Extinction, Hippopotamus, Mastodon, Palaeoloxodon, Stegodon, Steppe Mammoth, Woolly Mammoth | Tagged African Bush Elephant, African Elephant, African Forest Elephant, ancient DNA, Asian Elephant, Hippopotamus, Mastodon, Merck’s rhinoceros, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, Stegodon, Stegomastodon, Woolly Mammoth | 6 Comments

Open your eyes and see beauty

Posted on January 10, 2017 by twilightbeasts

“Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.” Anthony Doerr, 2015. She is beautiful: She is quite possibly the most beautiful thing in the room. I have travelled to America to see her, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbian Mammoth, Dwarf pronghorn | Tagged Antilocapridae, Bison, Camelops, Capromeryx minor, Columbian ma, Dire Wolves, Dwarf pronghorn, Giraffe, Glossotherium harlani, La Brea, Mammuthus columbi, Mastodon, Pronghorn Antelope, Pudu, Rancho la Brea, Sabretooth cat | 4 Comments

Stuck in time

Posted on December 2, 2016 by twilightbeasts

It is mid-November, and beads of sweat form on my forehead. Coalescence is inevitable. And it happens quickly; small beads merged into one humongous droplet, and it begins to meander its way down my nose, and there it dangles, stubbornly … Continue reading →

Posted in American Lion, Camelops, Horse, Mastodon, Sabre tooth Cat | Tagged Aisling Farrell, American lion, camel, Camelops, Columbian Mammoth, Crenshaw Boulevard, Dire Wolf, George C Page, Homotherium serum, La Brea, La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, Major Henry Hancock, Mastodon, Monster Bird, Page Museum, Panthera leo atrox, Rancho la Brea, Short-faced Bear, Smilodon, Smilodon fatalis, Tar Pits, Teratornis merriami, William Denton, Wilshire Boulevard | 6 Comments

Clovis hunting an African elephant

Posted on October 14, 2015 by twilightbeasts

One of the advantages of having entered academia after the internet revolution is that the majority of my library is virtual. My laptop PDF paper collection is currently at 6,554 items (and there are another 1,500 or so waiting to … Continue reading →

Posted in Clovis hunters | Tagged Africa, Clovis culture, Elephant, Extinction, human, Hunting, Mammoth, Mastodon, Overkill, Pleistocene, Ross Barnett | 6 Comments

Did humans wipe out the megafauna?

Posted on August 14, 2015 by twilightbeasts

The wonderful thing about writing for Twilight Beasts is the chance to bring back some truly incredible creatures. Here we are allowed to be taken back to a time when the largest land lizard ever walked the Earth: Megalania. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Extinction | Tagged Bison, Diprotodon, Giant Echidna, Glyptodon, Jan Freedman, Mammoth, mass extinction, Mastodon, Megalania, Megatherium, Overkill, Paul Martin, Smilodon, Woolly rhinoceros | 8 Comments

The last trumpet of a giant

Posted on June 5, 2015 by twilightbeasts

“The Columbian Mammoth of North America, Mammuthus columbi, is hereby designated as the official fossil of the state of Washington.” And so it was written. In 1998 the Washington State Legislature recognised the Columbian Mammoth as their official state fossil. The decision was not easy. … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbian Mammoth | Tagged Bering Strait, Christopher Columbus, Columbian Mammoth, Cuvieronius tropicus, Dire Wolf, giant short-faced bear, Gompothere, Hugh Falconer, Imperial Mammoth, Island Dwarfism, Mammut americanum, Mammuthus exilis, Mammuthus imperator, Mammuthus meridionalis, Mammuthus primigenius, Mastodon, Proboscideans, Smilodon, Southern Mammoth, State Fossil, Woolly Mammoth | 13 Comments

Overkill

Posted on March 25, 2015 by twilightbeasts

“But how could they have killed them all with just pointy sticks?” This question, or a variation thereof, has been asked of me, seemingly whenever I bring up the concept of overkill as the likely cause of Pleistocene megafaunal extinction. … Continue reading →

Posted in Sea cow | Tagged Bering, Bering Island, Bering Straits, Commander Islands, Extinction, Ground sloth, Holocene, Hunting, Hydrodamalis gigas, Mammoth, Mastodon, Medny Island, Megatherium, Naivety, Overkill, Paul S Martin, Pleistocene, Sirenia, St Lawrence Island, St Paul Island, Steller, Steller's sea cow, Wrangel Island, Yupik | 14 Comments

The bizarre elongated llama

Posted on January 2, 2015 by twilightbeasts

In the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, landscape manufacturer Slartibartfast likes to take elements of his favourite geological features and pop them together to make something extra special – allegedly how Scandinavia came about! On finding out about Macrauchenia, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Macrauchenia | Tagged Bahia, Camelidae, Charles Darwin, Great American Interchange, Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, HMS Beagle, Isthmus of Panama, Macrauchenia, Macrauchenia patachonica, Mastodon, Monte Verde, Phorusrhacidae, Richard Owen, Ruminantia, Terror-Birds | 12 Comments

	The most (and least)… on A very brief introduction to…
	The most (and least)… on The Nipple Tooth
	The most (and least)… on The burrowers
	The most (and least)… on The Stuff Of Night-Mares
	The most (and least)… on The beasts within

	The most (and least)… on A very brief introduction to…
	The most (and least)… on The Nipple Tooth
	The most (and least)… on The burrowers
	The most (and least)… on The Stuff Of Night-Mares
	The most (and least)… on The beasts within